


Maybe

by persephones_garden



Category: Cobra Kai (Web Series)
Genre: Canon Divergence, Developing Friendships, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-17 02:13:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29092569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/persephones_garden/pseuds/persephones_garden
Summary: After the events of the All Valley Tournament, Miguel happens upon Robby. They learn that neither boy is nearly as bad as they had supposed.(Takes place during S2E1)
Relationships: Miguel Diaz & Robby Keene
Comments: 4
Kudos: 50





	Maybe

Miguel wasn’t quite sure how he’d ended up at the LaRusso Auto Dealership. Just a few minutes ago, he’d been speeding along in the passenger seat of Sensei’s car. They’d taken tocarpooling between the dojo and their apartment building, each ride full of blaring music and chatter. Miguel had been rubbing his knuckles. He was debating whether to complain about how red and aching they remained after his fifty pushups, but before he had come to a conclusion, Sensei took a wrong turn.

“Aren’t we going home?”

Johnny nodded. “Gotta make a stop first. I don’t like it, but LaRusso needs to know about Kreese.”

“Who?”

“Don’t worry about it, kid.” Johnny pulled into the parking lot and came to a stop.

“Sensei, I think that sign says the spot is reserved for Mr. LaRusso—”

“And?” Johnny slid out of the car. “You wanna wait here?”

Miguel hopped out. “I think I’ll just wander around.”

“Suit yourself. I’ll be back soon. Hopefully.”

Johnny ambled through the front doors, scowling at a tall man in a business suit. Upon recognizing Johnny, the man scurried away.

Miguel shut the car door, before scoping out the place. It was big, modern, clean, and full of shiny cars. No wonder Sam’s family was rich.

His eyes fell upon a short worker, who was awkwardly shimmying out a side door that read “EMPLOYEES ONLY”. The worker’s face was hidden by a bonsai tree, which he struggled to keep aloft with only one arm. The other was in a sling.

The tree nearly tipped onto the pavement, but the worker was able to balance it at the last second. Miguel jogged over. “Need a hand?”

“Yes, please,” the guy said. Miguel lifted the pot out of his arm, and suddenly found himself face to face with—

 _“Keene?”_

Robby’s face soured. “…Diaz.”

The two stood there, staring. Miguel felt as if the cool ceramic pot was leeching the heat out of his skin. He glanced at Robby’s injured arm again. _Did I really do that?_ His stomach sank. Maybe Sensei really had a point, about showing mercy sometimes.

“You come here often?” Miguel blurted out.

Robby raised an eyebrow. “I work here.”

“…Right.”

Out in the lot, a car alarm blared.

Miguel shifted the pot. “So… where do you want this?”

“I can take it,” Robby snapped, reaching for it, but Miguel quickly stepped back.

“No, it’s cool, I got it.”

Robby eyed him warily, before nodding. “Fine. Just… come this way.”

They walked around the dealership— man, that building was large— until they reached another “EMPLOYEES ONLY” door. Robby punched in a code, and held the door open for Miguel.

“Thanks.”

Robby just shrugged. Miguel sat the pot down on a nearby table, and his eyes widened. The place was _filled_ with bonsai trees, each a rich evergreen. They were meticulously shaped, probably thanks to the several pairs of clippers that lay strewn about.

“This is really cool— wait, why do you have so many plants at a _car_ dealership?”

“Mr. LaRusso gives one to each customer,” Robby said. “I can’t really wax cars right now, so I’m on trimming duty.”

Something twisted in Miguel’s stomach. There was so much _anger_ in Robby’s voice, but the boy still kept his cool, answering Miguel's questions. “Uh…”

“You can get going,” Robby walked over to a tree and picked up a pair of clippers. “Probably should, you're not exactly allowed in here.”

Miguel stepped toward him. “Hey, I… went overboard at the tournament. I’m sorry.”

“Why should you be?" Robby asked bluntly. "You won."

“Yeah, but… I was kind of a dick to you. I _am_ sorry about that.”

Robby turned, and gave him a searching look. “Well… thanks, I guess.”

Miguel nodded, hands shoved in his pocket. He watched Robby return to the tree, snipping at stray branches. After a few minutes, Robby straightened.

“Look, you really don’t have to stay and help. That was the last one I had to carry in.”

Miguel frowned. “Wait, how many did you bring back here?”

“...About five?”

“Five of those things, with one arm?” Miguel shook his head. “You must have good balance.”

He could see Robby’s lip start to quirk up.The boy turned around. “I mean, I skateboard—”

“Me too!” Miguel interrupted. “Sorry, I’m being rude.”

“But it was really Mr. LaRusso who taught me about balance, with karate... and life.”

“That’s cool. My sensei is more into, y’know, striking first. Striking hard. Kinda why our match was so…”

Setting the clippers down, Robby leaned against the counter. “Yeah, I know. My dad fucking sucks.”

“What does your dad have to do with anything?” Miguel asked, tilting his head to the side. Robby gave him an odd look.

“Your ‘sensei’ is my dad.”

“Wait, _what?!”_

“You didn’t know?” Robby scowled at Miguel's stunned expression. “No, of course you didn’t. Why would he tell his _replacement_ son how badly he screwed up with his _actual_ son? Obviously, he wouldn’t.”

Miguel’s mind was reeling. “No, I didn’t— he never said— _that’s_ why he was so keen on showing mercy! And punishing us!”

“What are you talking about?”

“We had training today. He really ripped into me and Hawk for being, like, dishonorable at the tournament. Even though he’s the one who taught us to not show mercy— but it makes sense, cause you’re his son, and we were… yeah, okay.”

Robby rolled his eyes. “Glad I could provide some good material for your class.”

“I— I didn’t mean it like that.”

“It’s fine.” Robby crossed his arms. “I mean, my dad’s the one being an asshole. I can’t really blame you— well, I _can_ for what happened at the canyon—”

“You were moving in on my girlfriend,” Miguel snapped.

“I barely knew her— and I was the one who got her to that party in the first place!”

Miguel paused. “Wait, really?”

 _“Yes,”_ Robby huffed. “I literally only had one _actual_ conversation with Sam before then. Her mom grounded her, took her phone, I gave her an excuse to get out of the house. I mean, she seems nice, but we’re really just acquaintances.”

“Gotcha. So I’m just a complete jerk.” Miguel sighed. Robby shook his head.

“You looked pretty wasted at the time. Maybe you’re not a jerk when you’re sober. Or not super angry.”

Miguel gave him a small grin. “Maybe. _You_ seem like a nicer guy than I realized.”

“No, I’m just… trying not to mess everything up.” Robby’s eyes were glued to the floor. “You don’t know me very well.”

“Hey, I wouldn’t mind hanging out more.”

Robby furrowed his brow. “Really?”

“Yeah. You do seem like a cool guy— maybe we could go skateboarding sometime?” Miguel gave him a hopeful look. “There’s a park in La Cañada that I like to go to on Saturday mornings.”

“I know that place.”

“Well, maybe I’ll see you there next week.”

“...Maybe.”

The door opened, and Mr. LaRusso slid inside. “Hey, Robby, how's it—” He glanced at Miguel. “Wait a minute, aren’t you—”

Robby held up his hands placatingly. “It’s okay, Mr. LaRusso, we were just talking.”

“I was apologizing,” Miguel added, “not brawling, sir. But did you and Sensei…?”

“Ah. No, but I just about started yellin’ his ear off. If _Kreese_ thinks he can come back to the Valley after _everything_ he did, faking his death—”

The boys gave each other confused glances. Daniel sighed.

“Sorry, I don’t need to get into all that. But, Miguel, is it?”

“Yeah?”

“If a man named John Kreese _ever_ comes to your Cobra Kai training… well, just be cautious.”

“Okay,” Miguel squinted. _Had that broken mirror really been from Sensei celebrating, or…_ “I’ll keep that in mind. I should get going, actually, Sensei will probably be looking for me.”

Daniel nodded. “No need to rush, I think I saw him eyeing the popcorn machine when I left. Actually… I should go check on that.”

He hurried out the door. Miguel turned to Robby. “It was nice to, like, actually talk to you.”

“You too.” Robby smiled lopsidedly. “You’re not a bad guy, Diaz, I’ll… I’ll see you on Saturday.”

Miguel beamed at him. “I’ll see you then.”

**Author's Note:**

> tysm to the anon on tumblr who suggested "do you come here often" "I work here" as a prompt for a kiaz one shot! I had a lot of fun writing this
> 
> ive got more robby/miguel content posted if you wanna check it out!


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